'And the Witch Hunters,' added The Unknown.
'Bring them on,' growled Hirad.
'Oh, we'll be going to them, don't worry,' said Denser.
'So much the better.'
'Seriously,' continued Denser, 'they have to be silenced. What they know, or even think they know, could prove disastrous for the whole of Balaia if the wrong ears hear it.'
'Is it stupid of me to suggest a four-College alliance if this is really so critical?' asked Richmond.
'Not at all,' said Denser. 'In fact, a four-College meeting has been called, although it is to deal with the Wesmen threat, not the search for Dawnthief. We can't afford for the other Colleges to know about our search, not yet. Ilkar will tell you, they would interfere in the search and place impossible conditions on the spell's use. It must be kept quiet as long as possible.' He paused. 'Do you believe me, Ilkar?'
The elf gazed at him coolly. 'That's not a question I'm ready to answer. This has severe implications for my relationship with Julatsa. I'm honour-bound to tell them everything. You know that.'
There was another silence. Richmond added a log to the fire.
'I know. And all I ask is that you give me time to prove my intentions. But I do need an answer,' said Denser at length.
'To which question?' muttered Hirad.
'Will you help us?'
'How much?' asked Talan.
'Five per cent of the agreed value of each artefact, same idea as before.'
'I cannot believe you just asked that,' snapped Hirad. 'What does it matter how much? We already have a job to do.' Hirad indicated Sirendor's shrouded body.
'It always matters,' replied Talan. 'No decision will be made until all conditions are known. That's how it's always been.'
'We've retired, Talan, remember?'
'Balaia cannot afford for you to retire,' said Denser.
'Shut up, Xetesk man. This doesn't concern you.' Hirad didn't look round.
'Hirad, calm down,' said The Unknown. 'This is already difficult enough.'
'Is it? We find the Witch Hunters, we kill them. What's difficult about that?'
The Unknown ignored him. 'One more question, Denser. Assuming we recover the catalysts, what then?'
'You help me take them into the Torn Wastes and cast Dawnthief against the Wytch Lords in Parve. That is, if you want to.'
'Well, we aren't about to just hand them over to Xetesk,' said Ilkar.
'I didn't expect you would,' countered Denser.
'So has everyone heard enough?' asked The Unknown.
'Ages ago,' said Hirad.
'Right.' The Unknown rose and opened the door. 'Denser, it's time you left. We need to talk, and we have a Vigil to observe.'
'I need an answer,' repeated Denser.
'First light tomorrow,' said The Unknown. 'Please . . .' He gestured through the door.
Denser paused before leaving. 'You can't refuse,' he said. 'This means everything to all of us.'
The Unknown closed the door behind Denser and refilled all the glasses before returning to his seat.
'So, who wants to go first?' he asked.
'This is a nightmare,' said Ilkar. 'I'm not sure what to say.'
'Sirendor Larn is dead because of him, it's obvious that Ras's death had nothing to do with our last contract, and yet we're chatting about working for him!' Hirad was shouting. 'What are we debating this for?' He got up and strode to the fireplace. 'It's quite simple. We go and kill the Witch Hunters. Denser can stick his spell up his arse, and this-' he tore the code from its frame on the wall and ripped it in two - 'this is gone.'
They were all staring at him, or rather at the ruined parchment in his hands, eyes wide. He became very aware of his own quick breathing, the thudding of his heart and the sound of the fire behind him. He stared back, daring them to criticise or disagree.
'Sit down, Hirad,' said The Unknown quietly.
'Why, so you can-'
'I said sit down!' thundered the big man.
Hirad, still clutching the two pieces of the code, did so.
'We all know how much this is hurting you,' The Unknown's voice was calm once more, 'and we will deal with Sirendor's murderers, believe me. But what we've just heard, which you didn't seem to take in, has changed everything.'
'Really?' Hirad sighed.
'Really,' affirmed The Unknown. 'I expect Ilkar can explain it better than me. Ilkar?
The Julatsan raised his eyebrows. 'Putting it bluntly, the two worst things I can imagine have both happened at the same time. Or so Denser claims. The Wytch Lords are free and Xetesk has found the link to Dawnthief.'
'And?'
'Gods, Hirad, I wasn't joking earlier. Dawnthief can destroy everything. Literally. In theory at least. What that means is that if Denser succeeds in destroying the Wytch Lords - and we must pray that he does - the ultimate weapon will be firmly in the hands of the Dark College. And what do you think that'll mean for the rest of us?'
'So we kill him and take the spell after he's cast it.'
'Yes, but we have to be standing next to him to do that.'
'We could kill him now and take the amulet,' said Hirad evenly.
Silence. Richmond nodded.
'It could certainly save time,' he said.
'And what if he's right about the Wytch Lords?' asked Ilkar.
'Get somebody else to cast the spell,' said Hirad.
Ilkar snorted. 'Of course. I'll go and ask Tomas if he can spare us the time, shall I?'
'You know what I mean.'
'It's not that simple, Hirad. Denser will have been training all his life in the theory of Dawnthief casting. And if he is Xetesk's principal Dawnthief mage - and I have no reason to doubt that he is - then he is the man with the best and perhaps the only chance of casting it effectively.'
'So do you believe him, Ilkar?' Talan leaned forward in his chair, draining his glass and holding out a hand for the bottle that The Unknown proffered.
'Why would he lie about this? He's risking me making a report to Julatsa about Dawnthief, and he's right about the reaction he'd get if I did. Gods, what a mess.' Ilkar chewed his lip and sagged back to hunch in his chair.
'So, what are our options?' asked Talan.
'We don't have any,' said Ilkar. 'Not really. I mean, we could decide to refuse him and go after the Witch Hunters ourselves but what if he's telling the truth? We'd have turned our backs on the fight for Balaia, and worse still, we'd have left Xetesk and the Wytch Lords as the only competitors for Dawnthief. And Dawnthief means absolute domination, it really is that powerful, believe me. Make no mistake, if the Wytch Lords are coming back, they will be coming back to destroy us all.'
'Are they really that bad?' asked Richmond.
'Yes. Gods, yes,' replied Ilkar. 'You have to understand where they came from. They used to be part of the original single College but were banished across the Blackthornes for their beliefs. They spent centuries brewing their hate and developing ways of making themselves immortal. When they succeeded, they came back to take what they thought was theirs. That time, we won. This time, we won't, not without Dawnthief.' He paused, seeing they weren't quite with him. 'Look, the Wytch Lords won't want to conquer, they want to destroy, to wipe out everyone to the east of the mountains. It was the promise they made when they were pushed into the mana prison. In my view, we have to go with Denser . . . Put it this way, I'm going whether The Raven do or not, but I want the rest of you to do the same. We'll probably all die, but at least we'll have tried.'
'Martyrdom for my country is not something I've ever considered as an option,' said Talan.
'Still, it'll certainly be a new departure for The Raven,' said Richmond. 'Not just doing it for the money, I mean.'
'Retirement brings a new outlook to things.' Ilkar shrugged, but his smile was forced.
'It certainly did for Sirendor.' Hirad's voice was barely above a whisper.
'Yes, it did. And we must never forget the full circumstances of our accepting this job. Assuming, of course, we all accept?' The Unknown looked around.
'I need it written into the contract that I go to see Dawnthief properly used against the Wytch Lords only. I'm working for Balaia, not Xetesk,' said Ilkar, his tone uncompromising.
'And I want an undertaking on Denser's part that we will attack the Witch Hunters the first chance we get.' Hirad was looking over at Sirendor.
'Got all that, Talan?' asked The Unknown when no one ventured further thoughts. Talan nodded. 'Denser needs to sign the contract at first light, so you'd better draw it up now. Anything else from anyone?'
'Just one thing,' said Richmond. 'Shouldn't we be guarding Denser? Or the amulet he's holding, to be more accurate.'
'Don't worry. His cat'll see him safe,' said Ilkar.
Hirad looked askance at the elf, imagining the animal holding off several large armed men. 'Good with a sword, is it?'
Ilkar chuckled in spite of the mood. 'It's a Familiar, Hirad. It retains a part of his consciousness, for want of a better word, and I dare say it can take on more than one form.'
'Oh, I see,' said Hirad, not seeing.
'I'll explain another time. Just trust me for now, all right?'
'Right, gentlemen,' said The Unknown, standing. 'Back here in an hour for the Vigil. Until that time, I suggest we all leave Hirad to air his grief in private.'
Hirad smiled his thanks, tears already forming. When they were all gone, he allowed himself to weep.
Chapter 7.
Selyn's escape from Terenetsa had an element of fortune to it, although she liked to think she was never in any real danger. She was certainly irritated that the Shaman had managed to see her so easily despite the spell she had used to conceal herself, and had ducked low as the arrows flew.
With the Wesmen advancing behind a hail of shafts, she had gathered together her concentration and cast another CloakedWalk before diving through an unshuttered opening at the side of the hut in which she had been hiding and watching.
Landing on hard-baked mud, she had scattered chickens as she rolled, the fowl looking on in blank confusion, sensing something but seeing nothing. She had come fluidly to her feet and sprinted away into the forest, changing direction at the tree line and hearing the sounds of pursuit die away as she slipped unseen further and further into the forest.
Several hours later, as night fell, she had held communion with Styliann before sleeping deeply under a stand of low bushes she had hollowed out to accommodate her slender frame.
Selyn awoke the next morning with the sun dappling her face. The forest was quiet but for the sounds of nature, and the still air warmed quickly. She set and lit a fire before recovering the rabbit from the trap she'd laid the night before, then skinned it effortlessly and spitted it for breakfast. She was on the move in less than an hour.
The lands to the north-west, her direction of travel, were crawling with Wesmen raiding parties as the tribes sought local populations to subjugate and new areas for staging posts. As she moved quietly past encampment after encampment and saw the Wesmen building calmly and carefully, she wondered at their apparent lack of urgency. It was as if they were waiting for something. She feared finding out what.
As the first afternoon of her journey to the Torn Wastes began to pale towards dusk, she felt a sudden and involuntary spasm of fear. What she found in Parve would almost certainly herald chaos throughout Balaia and a war the scale of which hadn't been seen for over three hundred years - the last time the Wesmen invaded. She only hoped she could relay enough information back to Styliann before she was caught and killed. Because, if Styliann was right, she wouldn't be leaving the City of the Wytch Lords.
Her sense of fear was quickly quashed, replaced by one of loss, and for a time she struggled with her motivation. She knew it was best if she forgot all thoughts of a return to Xetesk. They might cloud her judgement, make her too careful. She substituted them with the cold desire to prove herself beyond all question Xetesk's greatest mage-spy. She had never doubted. Others had, simply because she was a woman in a male-dominated order.
And more than having her name exulted in her own ranks, she had the chance to achieve the ultimate sacrifice for the greater glory of Xetesk. She might even change the course of the war that was surely coming.
Desire rekindled, she focused very deliberately to build her inner strength. Supple but strong leather boots covered her feet and calves, their dark matt-brown colouring blending with the forest shades. Each boot carried a sheathed dagger. Mottled green trousers and jacket completed the camouflage picture.
On her hands, black gloves, skin tight, with fine grips sewn into palms and fingertips. Inside the sleeves of her jacket and under those of her brown woollen shirt, a spring mechanism attached to either wrist. Locked into each was a barbed bolt fatal in close combat but with no real range. Three more daggers hung from her waist belt in addition to a pick set, and on her back, beneath her jacket, hung a scabbarded short sword.
Her head and neck were wrapped in a long cloth scarf which, when tied for covert action, left open only the skin surrounding her large brown eyes. She kept her black hair cropped close to her head, her nails short but sharp and her feet in perfect condition. Her body, slim and athletic, long-legged and small-breasted, was built for agility and speed, attributes she used to the full.
She was fast and deadly because being clever enough to breach places undetected was only half the job. Being able to get out when the mana ran dry was the reason she survived. Styliann had quipped that she'd make a fine assassin, but personally she found the thought of killing to order abhorrent. Mind you, more than once her path had been sprinkled with the corpses of those who'd tried to stop her.
Selyn smiled. Maybe she would see Xetesk again after all. With care and belief, anything was possible. She was under pressure to reach Parve quickly. Knowing only one spell that would satisfy that pressure, she used it, moving off northwest through thinning trees towards increasingly mountainous and barren terrain that gave ample places to hide, but few in which to find any comfort. The western lands were characterised by sheer valleys and studded with ranges of mountains over which sudden and violent weather broke almost without warning. But for now, with the sun warming the earth, cold rock seemed a world away.
The sun was already past its zenith when The Raven rode out of Korina by the North Gate, heading for the ruins of Septern's mage house, three days' ride to the north-west. The morning had been taken up by Sirendor's funeral, an event to which Denser was not invited.
Now clear of the scene of sorrow, they rode in loose formation on the trail. Denser, drawn and sunken-eyed, was at the head with Talan and Richmond. The Unknown Warrior and Hirad Coldheart rode together some twenty strides behind. Ilkar was well adrift of them and had kept silent from the moment they saddled up.
It was an hour since their exit from Korina and Hirad had been half expecting an attack, particularly from the Witch Hunters. The idea that they had sent only one assassin after Denser made Hirad wonder what sort of organisation they were, and he found himself a little disappointed in them. He was relying on their determination to see Denser dead, and as he gazed at the Dark Mage's back, he had to smile. It was an odd situation for sure.
'Why is it Ilkar dislikes Xetesk so much?' he asked, still staring at Denser.